Harmonic Divergence
by queenssaviour
Summary: Regina and Emma get sucked into the time portal and end up in the Enchanted Forest. Adventures with our two favorite ladies ensue. Written for Swan Queen Week 2015, Day 4: Canon Divergence. Sort of a 3x21 & 3x22 fix-it fic (rewrite, basically). Now complete.
1. Chapter 1: The Enchanted Forest

"Miss Swan!"

Emma stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Regina call out her name. The furious tone of the woman's voice confirmed her suspicions that Regina wasn't done with the conversation they had had in the diner. She should've known.

"He's _our_ son, and you can't make that kind of decision without talking with me first! Has it happened to slip your mind that the life I gave you is the reason you want to go to back to New York in the first place?" Regina queried. Emma turned around to face the woman who was holding Henry's storybook.

She sighed. Regina was right, of course, but she still felt like she had a point as well.

"Look, it's not like I have it completely figured out yet, but we had a good life in New York. It was home, and I miss it. It was safe and there were no witches or the Dark One or… _Peter Pan_ to fight. It was in the real world. All these stories, they don't feel real to me. Henry deserves -"

Regina didn't seem to want to hear what she had to say. "I think we both know that Henry does not want to go back to New York, Miss Swan. He just said so himself. He has two mothers who are more than capable of protecting him, especially if we continue your training." Regina paused. "And as for the good life in New York… Well, there's no point thanking me, I guess."

By that point, she couldn't even look Regina in the eye anymore. The woman's posture was confident, whereas Emma found herself fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket, feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed. She inhaled, and her eyes met the former Queen's.

"Regina… I…" She didn't finish her sentence, and her eyes shifted from Regina to the sky behind her. "What the hell is that?"

Regina turned around and her mouth fell open. "That's… an open time portal. That doesn't make sense..."

Emma was running the next second, determined to find out what was going on. She heard Regina was on her heels, following and cursing her choice of shoes for the day.

"Emma, wait!"

"We have to go check it out," Emma breathed out as she turned to face the woman falling behind. Regina walked up to her and shook her head. The brunette grabbed Emma's arm and they were soon surrounded by purple mist. The next thing Emma saw was the source of the light that seemed to be coming from a farmhouse.

Emma's phone was ringing, and she looked at the screen._ David_. She didn't have the time to answer, though, because at that moment, the doors of the barn opened. She and Regina were swept off their feet by the portal pulling them into its center. She saw Regina try to stop the pull with her magic to no avail. When Emma was dangerously near the beam, Regina took her hand and tried to pull her away from it. She saw Regina had grabbed a rope and was holding onto it with a pained yet confused expression on her face.

"Regina! I can't hold on much longer," Emma yelled before it would be too late. "Just tell Henry I love him and- " she wasn't able to finish her sentence as the pull of the portal made it impossible for her to speak and the image of Regina was blurred by different shades of orange.

*

Emma opened her eyes and saw she had been thrown in the middle of a forest. She took a deep breath. Traveling through a portal hadn't become any nicer after the last time. Suddenly, she heard a loud thud behind her and turned her head. Regina had come with her.

"You could've chosen not to take my hand and try to get away yourself, you know." The Savior saved by the former Evil Queen. This wasn't in Henry's book.

Regina swept her hands on her pants and rolled her eyes at Emma. "Well, I could hardly tell our son that I let his other mother fall through a portal and did nothing to stop it, now, could I?"

Emma didn't look directly at Regina but just shook her head. "So now he has no mother to tell him anything because we're both stuck here. Great," she sighed.

"We are in the Enchanted Forest, by the way," Regina pointed out to her. "But when, I can't be sure."

Emma got up and turned around. Her mouth fell open as she saw something on one of the trees surrounding them.

"Does this happen to be your design by any chance?" she asked Regina, already knowing the answer.

Regina turned to her direction, and Emma saw Regina's expression change as the woman saw a wanted sign for Snow White. _For crimes against the Queen. MURDER, TREASON, TREACHERY._ Regina closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.

It must've been hard for Regina to be thrown back to her darkest days after trying to redeem herself for Henry. Emma waited for the woman to open her eyes, and when she did, she let out another impatient groan. Emma held out her had, and, surprisingly enough, Regina took it, letting her pull her up.

"We'll figure this out, Regina, okay? We fight, and we get back home to Henry, and it'll be okay," Emma said, trying to convince not only the woman in front of her, but also herself.

Regina let out a mixture of a laugh and a sigh. "If only it were that easy, Miss Swan."

"I know you're mad at me and everything, but could you maybe call me Emma again?" she tried.

Regina raised an eyebrow and was probably fighting the urge to say something rude to her. After a short moment, which felt like ages for Emma, she finally spoke. "Fine… _Emma._ But after all this is over, you better not think taking Henry to New York is even a remotely plausible option."

"Look, I'm… I'm sorry about that," Emma started. She wanted to say so much more. Regina was Henry's mother who had given them the life in New York in the first place, and Emma hadn't even thanked her. And now she had planned to take him away from Regina without her knowing and without Henry's consent. She couldn't get the words out, and kept fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket again. "I really am."

Regina's expression softened. Emma almost couldn't see it, but just a small hint of a smile at the corner of the woman's mouth betrayed Regina when she nodded. "Okay." Regina didn't say more, so they stood there in silence, only hearing the singing of the birds.

"So…" Emma started, "is your magic working? It didn't near the portal, right? That was weird."

Regina opened her palm and Emma expected a fireball to appear, but nothing happened. Regina let out a loud frustrated sigh followed by a few curse words that made Emma jump. She wasn't used to the Mayor using profanities when losing her temper, and this reaction made panic rise inside Emma. If Regina didn't have any magic, they truly were stuck in the past with no way of getting back. Unless…

"Rumpelstiltskin," Emma said in a small voice and cleared her throat when Regina turned to face her. "I think we need to ask him for help."

"Rumpelstiltskin? Right. Because his promises have always given me great results with no additional price whatsoever." Regina ran a hand through her hair and sighed again. "This can't be happening. It makes no sense for my magic to disappear like that. Without my magic…"

Emma didn't have time to respond to that because the singing of the birds was interrupted by the sound of hid behind a tree quickly and yanked Emma behind her. They looked at the nearby road, and Emma could hear Regina groan. Four black knights were riding their horses fast past them.

*

"Emma, I don't think this is a good idea," she could hear Regina whisper as she kept approaching the sounds she heard in the forest.

"Well, I think we should know as much as we can about the time we're in now, right?" Emma responded to the woman who sighed disapprovingly in response. She stopped walking and crouched down, peeking through the branches of the bushes when Regina moved just beside her.

The clearing in front of them was full of people circled around a woman dressed in red and black. The woman turned around, and Emma saw the same face that was beside her. Only the expression on the face was different: Regina in the clearing looked cunning and malevolent, and the one next to her anxious and tense.

_"…nothing compared to the pain and misery I can inflict if I leave here unhappy."_

"That's you," she pointed out. Regina didn't seem to be bothered to answer right away because it was more than obvious they had crossed paths with the woman's past self.

"Yes, dear, that's the Evil Queen for you."

"You're even worse without the sensible pantsuits," Emma said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Regina snorted and shoved her lightly. The last hint of playfulness the brunette had had in her shove disappeared soon, though, when the guards removed a hood from a prisoner's head.

_"Who wants to be next?"_ the Queen asked and laughed. Emma moved and was ready to intervene when Regina grabbed her arm.

"You can't'," the brunette hissed, her expression serious.

"She's innocent. We can't just let her -" Emma tried to reason with the older version of the Queen, but Regina stopped her.

"You can't go there… I would hurt you," Regina said with a sad smile. Her hand was still on Emma's arm and she was stroking it, probably unconsciously. Then Regina shook her head and pulled her hand away as if she had shown too much emotion already. "Besides, you would change history. We cannot interfere like that," she added more objectively.

Emma nodded slowly. She knew Regina was right. "So what do you think about finding Go- Rumpelstiltskin?"

"I don't… I really don't know, Emma," Regina said and shook her head. "I guess there's nothing else we can do."

*

"I look ridiculous," Emma said as Regina turned to look at her. "Is this really necessary?"

They had found clothes someone had left to dry in the woods, and they were now both wearing something Regina had described as peasant clothing. Emma came to the conclusion that her dress showed way too much cleavage when Regina broke the silence.

"You're the one to talk. Everyone here knows my face," the woman groaned and tried to hide behind her hood. "I still can't believe my magic isn't working, I could just cast us both a disguise. You might need one too since we don't want anyone remembering you before you arrive to Storybrooke."

"You would remember a glimpse of a face thirty years from now? What, I have such a memorable face or what?" Emma couldn't resist making a joke. There was be no way Regina, or anyone else for that matter, would remember her. Emma turned her gaze to Regina who put a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha, very funny, Miss Swan," Regina said. "I think walking around in such a horrendous leather jacket would leave an everlasting impression on anyone."

"You like my leather jackets," she continued teasing. Regina rolled her eyes… and, _no_. Emma could've sworn she saw a tint of red making its way on Regina's cheeks. "Oh my God. You do like my leather jacket. Haha! After so much complaints about my non-existent fashion sense you actually find me rather… charming, don't you?"

Emma didn't know what had happened to her filter, and she started to wonder if humor had always been her way to cope in life-threatening situations, or was this something she had only recently started doing.

"Please be quiet, Miss Swan." Regina snorted. "This is hardly the time and place to discuss leather jackets or your… questionable charmingness. We need to make sure we don't interfere with the timeline and do something irreversible."

Emma smirked before putting on the most serious expression she could manage. Regina didn't seem to be too mad at her anymore. Emma started to walk towards the forest road, hearing the woman's footsteps behind her.

*

They were walking down the road when Emma suddenly heard something approach them from behind.

"Quick, we can't be seen," Regina said as she grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her in the bushes with her.

A white carriage stopped near them.

_"Worry not. It's but a fallen tree."_

Emma gaped at the person who had descended from the carriage.

"Is that-" she started to ask, even though she already knew the answer. It was her father in his fairytale land clothing. A sword was hanging from his belt, and his posture was somewhat different from what Emma was used to. Just as she had said these stories weren't real for her, she was actually seeing them with her own eyes in the land of Henry's book.

"Yes, that seems to be your father, and I'd assume that's princess Abigail in the carriage, so we should really stay out of the way."

She knew Regina turned to face her, but she was too busy gazing up on a tree now. She could feel a smile break all over her face as she saw the person climbed up. It was Snow.

"Emma…" Regina started, drawing her attention away from her mother. "I'm sorry."

Emma furrowed her brow, confused by the former Queen's sudden apology. "About what?"

Regina broke their eye contact and looked at her hands as she spoke. "Everything. I let my vengeance for your mother hurt so many people. Collateral damage I can never take back. More than anyone, the curse hurt you. The one person I actually had nothing against. An innocent baby."

Emma hadn't expected her reaction to Regina's words to be this strong, because she was pretty sure her face showed about a dozen emotions by now, and she was more than aware of the tears on her cheeks. As Regina turned to look at her, the woman seemed completely dumbfounded for causing this reaction. Emma moved to change her posture.

"Regina, I-" But Emma didn't get to tell Regina what she was about to say because when she moved, she cracked a branch of wood in half. Snow, who was still clinging on the tree, seemed to be disturbed by that, because the sound was followed by Emma's mother falling down from the tree.

Emma and Regina saw how Charming and his knights realized they were ambushed, how Snow ran away, and how the carriage eventually continued its journey. She looked at Regina, the seriousness of the situation dawning on her when she saw the brunette's concerned expression.


	2. Chapter 2: Rumpelstiltskin

**AN: I didn't want to write the Hook thing because it really made no sense to put it here, so they are under the assumption that Snow needs the ring (specifically) for the voyage out of the Enchanted Forrest (without them telling her to get the ring...) Let's say they read it in the book before the pages became blank... Changing canon events a bit more there, I hope that makes sense. **

* * *

Emma and Regina continued their journey to Rumpelstiltskin's castle in silence. After what felt like several hours to Emma, they came to a clearing from which they could see a castle completely covered in gold.

"So, there it is, Miss Swan," Regina said without looking at her. "The Dark One's castle."

"Regina, come on," replied Emma. "How did it become Miss Swan again?"

Regina, rather reluctantly, turned to face Emma. "I apologize for my... forwardness and sudden display of emotions. I think it best if we just get this over with, fix this mess, make your parents meet, get back home, and forget any of this happened, wouldn't you agree?"

Emma moved closer to Regina and took one of her hands in hers, holding it between them as she spoke. "Regina, no, I don't agree. I really wanted to thank you for what you said earlier, but then I kinda messed it all up when I stopped my parents from meeting each other for the first time and everything." She paused and nervously looked Regina in the eye. "So thank you. Really." She was still holding Regina's hand in hers and didn't have any intention of letting it go.

Surprisingly enough, Regina didn't pull her hand away either, but just kept looking at her. Emma found the brunette's expression hard to read, and she was reminded of the countless times they had been standing like this before, unable to tell what Regina's gazes meant and how she ought to react to them. She had been confused so many times, one of those times being their goodbye at the town line...

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice behind them interrupted Emma's thoughts, and her mouth gaped open once more when she turned around and saw… Rumpelstiltskin, apparently, giggling a few feet away from them. She saw that Regina had turned her head to the opposite direction and pulled her hand away.

Emma wanted to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth. Rumpelstiltskin kept laughing and motioning with his hands, and maybe he said something more, but Emma wasn't in any state to register such things. That was when Regina turned around and showed her face.

The Dark One's expression changed rapidly. He looked at Regina and seemed very puzzled about the current turn of events. "How peculiar is this?" he squealed. "You're not Regina! I just saw her! Would one of you care to explain what's going on here? Who is this impostor?"

Regina seemed to regain her posture before Emma did. "We are from the future, Rumpelstiltskin, and we need your help." It seemed to be hard for her to go ask for help from her previous mentor, but there wasn't much of a choice left.

"Well, if you're from the future, then I should be going so we won't change anything with our little interactions here now, dearies," Rumpelstiltskin said and turned to leave. Emma realized she needed to do something to stop him from going.

"I know your son!" she yelled before it was too late. Both Regina and Rumpelstiltskin's faces turned to Emma. Regina was showing her usual _really, Miss Swan?_ expression, and Rumple's face was very incredulous.

"You're lying!" Rumpelstiltskin shouted and pointed his finger at her. "What would you know of my son?"

"His name is Baelfire. You're planning to enact a curse in hopes of reuniting with him," Emma said while panic started to rise inside her. She had told Rumpelstiltskin too much already, and she was practically playing with fire now.

"Who told you that?" Rumpelstiltskin growled. He turned to Regina, looking puzzled. "Really, who is this?"

Regina looked both bored and worried when she answered, "She's the Savior. The product of true love. She broke the curse. The curse you had me cast, by the way."

He stared at Emma disbelievingly. "But that's just my speculation!" He stopped and his eyes went from Regina to Emma and then back to Regina. "I haven't done it!"

"Well, you obviously will, as you can see," Regina said and waved her hand to Emma's direction.

"And you will succeed," added Emma, unable to help herself.

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her for a moment and giggled. "You need my help? Then answer me one question. Do I find my son?" Emma didn't answer, and Regina was quiet as well. "Answer me!"

"Yes," Emma replied, frightened, and smiled in a way that was probably hard for Rumpelstiltskin to read. He would find his son, but he would lose him too. Emma felt like she was lying, even though Rumpelstiltskin himself was known for playing with words.

"Bae. I find Bae. How? Don't tell me. If I succeed, I don't want anything in my head that might throw it off," he said as he waved his hands.

Emma looked at Rumpelstiltskin, feeling both sad and nervous. She could see Regina's eyes were on her all the time, her expression sad as well. "Yeah… About that. It might already kind of be thrown off," she finally said.

Rumpelstiltskin looked very unamused, and a frown more displeased than his previous ones appeared on his face. "You've changed things. What have you done?"

She turned back to Rumpelstiltskin, feeling extremely guilty. "We interrupted my parents meeting."

* * *

After arriving to the Dark One's castle, Emma saw Regina question Rumpelstiltskin about the issue that had been bothering her. She attempted to follow the conversation in her constant state of bafflement as she tried to take all of the castle in.

"Rumpelstiltskin," Regina started. He turned around, his fingers flicking, an anticipatory expression on his face. "My magic isn't working here, and I could really use a reason for that." Regina opened her hand again to no avail and looked the imp in the eye.

"Well, it just seems to me that all magic comes with a price, and for you, time traveling came with this price," he giggled. Emma saw Regina cross her arms and exhale impatiently. "I don't know what you want me to say, dearie. I have never dealt with anything like this before, so I could only assume that the time portal is the reason for your magic disappearing."

Regina groaned and turned around, running a hand through her hair. "Perfect… Just perfect. As if we didn't have enough problems in our hands already."

Emma put her hand on Regina's arm, and the brunette stopped her frustrated murmurs. "We'll get through this," Emma said before she even planned to say it. Just then someone else came into the room, and she dropped her hand.

"Rumpelstiltskin! You're back. Do you need anything?" asked a girl who Emma recognized as Belle. Emma's mouth gaped open for the umpteenth time that day, the sight of Belle walking into the room, looking as real as in Storybrooke, baffling her.

"Belle!" left Emma's mouth before she could stop herself.

"Do we know each other?" Belle asked, a perplexed expression on her face.

"Sorry. No. Um, mister Rumple, The Dark One, um, told me about you," she tried to explain, mentally kicking herself.

"Did he?" Belle smirked.

"No!" Rumpelstiltskin negated fast. "Go away and read a book or whatever it is you like to do," he said and waved his hands. "Come back and clean later."

"You could ask nicely," Belle pointed out, and Emma turned to look at Regina who was looking at Belle with a slightly pained regretful expression on her face.

"I could also turn you into a toad," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

"It's a miracle you two fall for each other," Emma commented as Belle left the room. She realized her slip too late when she saw Regina's murderous gaze.

"What?" Rumpelstiltskin laughed. "You're telling me I fall for the help?"

"I believe we have some more urgent matters at hand, such as fixing this mess. I propose we concentrate on the relevant issue here," Regina interrupted in an irritated tone.

"Yes," Rumpelstiltskin agreed, "Who are your parents?"

"Snow White and Prince Charming," Emma replied, knowing that if her past self had seen her now, she wouldn't have believed her eyes.

Rumpelstiltskin sat down looking rather amused. "Prince Charming?" He raised his eyebrows. Emma realized that that wasn't her father's real name.

Regina rolled her eyes at the situation. "Prince James."

Rumpelstiltskin's eyebrows were still raised. "King George's son, whose wedding I've just arranged?"

"That marriage isn't supposed to happen because it keeps the two idiots from getting together," Regina clarified.

"That would be my parents," Emma added.

Rumpelstiltskin looked rather amused. "It's quite a tale you're spinning."

Emma had a plan to show Rumpelstiltskin she was telling the truth. She put Henry's book on the long table in front of them and flipped through the pages of the thick book. "Here, let me show you. It's in the book." When Emma got to the correct part of the book, all she could see was blank pages. "Wait. What?"

"The ripple effect. We have changed the past, so nothing in the book is the same anymore until we put everything back to its course," Regina explained. "Not that it is a very good book for objective information, anyway," she muttered under her breath.

"We need to get Snow to steal that ring, so we can put their story back on track," Emma said, knowing what they should do but having no idea how to do it.

Rumpelstiltskin raised his finger. "You're in luck. There's a ball tonight at King Midas' castle. Prince James will be there and so will his ring," he smirked.

"So, we just need Snow there," she said, feeling hopeful again.

Rumpelstiltskin winked and stood up. "Allow me." He walked to a crystal ball, and after a wave of his hand they could all see Snow sitting across a pirate.

"She's trying to secure a passage on his ship, but can't. She can't escape from me without the ring she needs for the passage," Regina thought out loud.

"Can you help us?" Emma asked Rumpelstiltskin. She was getting desperate. She remembered the book saying the pirate captain had wanted a specific ring to pay for the passage.

"Help you?" Rumpelstiltskin said. "I can work on getting your portal to the future open again, but getting your parents together? You made that mess, dearie. Only you know what you did. Now go undo it."

Rumpelstiltskin left the room, and Emma turned to face Regina.

"So, what now?"

"I think she's going back to the castle for the ring so she can trade it for the passage… She should have no problem sneaking in. But how do we get in? I don't have magic, and the place is guarded..."

"I don't like leaving things to chance and hope she just pulls it off," Emma concluded.

"Well, actually, dearie…." Rumpelstiltskin said by the door. "I don't like doing that either, which is why I never do. I might be able to help you with one more problem," he said and snapped his fingers. "See? An invitation to the ball." He showed them an invitation that had just appeared in his hand.

"So, you'll be inside to watch out for her," Emma realized.

"No, no, I'll be far too busy sorting out how to get you home," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

"Well, who's the invitation for?" she asked.

Regina nudged her side. "It's for us. We're going to the ball."

_Oh._ She understood now. "You can open our portal?"

"There's a powerful wand, which, uh, I came to possess," Rumpelstiltskin said. "Anyway, legend says it can recreate any magic that's ever been wielded. Now, with a little work, I can use it to recreate whatever portal brought you here."

"Please, do it quickly. We'll be in and out before you know it. I want to get the hell out of here," she pleaded. She really did. She just wanted to get back home to Henry... and her parents, and her baby brother, and hell, even arresting Leroy when he was drunk seemed like a dream job compared to this.

"You and I both, Emma," Regina muttered.

"Oh, confidence! I like it," Rumpelstiltskin exclaimed. Emma turned, ready to go, but was stopped by his voice again. "Wait! Not like that."

He looked at both of them for a second, and whereas Regina's expression was almost bored, Emma was utterly confused until Rumpelstiltskin waved his hands and they were surrounded by crimson mist.

"The Savior can't come this far and not play princess for a day," he said, and as Emma looked down, she saw she was wearing a red ball gown.

"But I'm not supposed to stick out. What if someone remembers me in the future?" she said and turned to Regina. And… if she wasn't supposed to stick out, what was Regina doing, then? The woman looked stunning and as regal as ever in a dark blue dress not too different from Emma's, the expression on her face still unamused. Speaking of her face (her very beautiful face, Emma could've added) the woman couldn't possibly go to the ball. Everyone knew her. "Regina…"

"This is not all, Emma. He performed a glamor spell as well, I'm rather sure," Regina said, still staring at Rumpelstiltskin.

"It seems you know all my tricks," Rumpelstiltskin said and giggled. "By the way, I've returned those stolen rags, luckily before they were missed. I mean, it's a miracle the timeline hasn't imploded already. Amateurs."

Emma looked from Regina to Rumpelstiltskin, still feeling confused.

"This is how you shall appear to one and all," he said and pulled a mirror out of thin air. Emma could see her reflection, and Regina's, except that those weren't their reflections, but them with someone else's faces.

"Now run along and do everything you can to make sure Snow White gets that ring. Once they are back on track, everything else will be, too," the Dark One said and waved his hand.

Emma closed her eyes, and they were surrounded by crimson mist again. When she opened them, she saw they were relocated near King Midas' castle, ready to go to the ball.


	3. Chapter 3: The Ball

They were finally in the castle, entering the ball and hoping to finish their mission so they could get home. Emma tried not to look around in obvious awe; she was supposed to blend in, and acting like she had never seen a castle or attended a ball before in her life was hardly the way to do that.

She felt Regina move confidently next to her, not very surprised by the former Queen's ability to play the part better than she could. Emma didn't feel comfortable at all, and it probably showed on her face. The worry about all the things that could go wrong nagged in the back of her mind, and the ball gown she was wearing wasn't the least bit comfortable.

"Just when I thought the clothes here couldn't get any worse," she muttered, which caused Regina to huff next to her.

"That should be the least of your worries now. Besides, I never had any problem with them as Queen," Regina responded. She didn't sound exactly mad at her, but more annoyed at the fact that she complained about something as trivial as their clothing.

"Seriously, though, how do you walk in that thing?" Emma asked since Regina's gown looked even more difficult to walk in than hers.

"With the poise and composure of a Queen." Regina said after rolling her eyes, her lips starting to curve up at the corners. Regina mimicked one of the expressions Emma had seen earlier that day in the woods, making her almost laugh, but then she realized that they had moved so much that they were now facing someone.

"Greetings. I am King Midas," the man in front of them said, "father of the bride. Who do I have the honor to welcome into my home?" The King had a golden crown on his head, and it seemed to Emma that his clothing had diamonds embroidered on it. A shiny sword was hanging on his belt, and his expression was kind but expectant at the same time.

Emma realized she should've been making herself a name right about now. She heard Regina introduce herself as Princess Isabelle from a nearby kingdom, and before the woman had time to finish, Emma found herself saying she was Princess Leia.

"An honor to have you both," the King said, seemingly convinced that there was nothing suspicious about them. "Announce Princess Isabelle and Princess Leia," he added to the bowing man behind him, and Regina seemed to take that as the cue to pull her away from the King's vicinity.

"Princess Leia?" Regina asked when the King couldn't hear them anymore. "Really?"

"What? She was the first princess that popped into my head," she replied to the woman shaking her head. Emma thought it was a bit ridiculous of Regina to frown upon her for that. She had introduced herself, after all. "Besides, you like Star Wars."

Regina laughed. "What?"

"Henry has told me about the movie marathons you used to have," she answered and nodded. The Kid really had mentioned that, among a few other things that had made Emma more certain that she truly had given Henry his best chance by giving him up for adoption. Despite her somewhat less pleasant traits, Regina had really done her best as a mother.

"Ah," Regina replied and smiled.

"We could have one when we get back maybe?" Emma asked, guessing that the thought of Henry had caused Regina to forget that she was supposed to be upset with her.

"Yes," Regina said and turned to look at her. "We could. But first, we need to focus on the issue at hand."

Regina was right. Emma turned to look around again at the people in their ball gowns. The castle was illuminated by candles, and she could now hear some faint music in distance. "Mary Margaret and David are always going on about this ball and that ball. What's the big deal about these things?" she asked Regina, who would know better than her. Sure everything looked nice, but she couldn't personally understand the appeal, at least right away.

"Well, it was when the upper classes got together in a festive atmosphere, the result of very much planning, everyone's favorite pastime, including your mother's. She must've gotten that from her mother, because I surely didn't teach her that," Regina replied and rolled her eyes. "I never was much for balls or dressing up for them when I was younger, considering I never wanted this life in the first place. Mother insisted I attend all of them, though, hoping that an appropriate suitor would appear."

Emma wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. There was so much more to Regina's past than Henry's book ever let on, and she was so sorry she had dragged Regina back here.

The people in front of them moved, and she saw a dance floor filled with couples dancing. This, on the other hand, was just like in Henry's book.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"Well, you don't have to do anything, really," Regina said. "As much as I'd like to give you a dance you didn't get to experience when you were younger… because of me, I might add… we should really be doing something else than socializing. Besides, now that I think of it, I think I should be arriving soon."

"You would give me a dance?" she asked, her voice higher than she had planned. Regina's reply had surprised her.

"That's what you choose to focus on, Emma? I just said that I, or the Evil Queen me, would be arriving soon." Regina shook her head and looked around.

"Still," she found herself saying. She wouldn't have minded a dance with Regina if she was being completely honest, and the brunette offering one meant that she really wasn't that upset with her anymore. Emma shook her head. Now was not the time to get confused by feelings she knew she had buried deep, because now was the time to concentrate on getting back home.

"Fine, if we ever get back, I will give you a dance at the next victory party at Granny's for all I care. Could you focus now?"

"Sure," Emma said and fought a snigger. She would hold onto that and see Regina's reaction when they were actually at Granny's… If they ever got back. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, your father seems to be here," Regina said as she nodded to the direction of the King. Emma could see her father now, too, standing next to Princess Abigail. He moved soon, however, but Emma didn't have much time to react to that because that was when the grand doors of the room opened, and Regina in her black queenly dress stepped in.

"Quite an entrance you have there," Emma commented, unable to keep her mouth shut. Regina shook her head next to her.

"What a pleasure, my Queen," King Midas said to the Queen as he bowed. "I thank you for honoring my daughter with your presence. And thank you for your generous hospitality."

The Queen measured the King with her eyes, a look between contempt and disinterest in them, if Emma could tell right from the distance. As her eyes went from one Regina to the other, she tried to figure out what to do next.

"I hope you don't mind I brought some friends," the Queen continued.

"Doesn't this make our plan more difficult?" Emma asked.

"Well, I had to be invited, to be honest…" Regina said as her eyes scanned their surroundings. "Where's your father?"

"Um," Emma started, realizing that he had indeed left the ball room for good, and hadn't returned. She had thought Regina had noticed it as well, and she hadn't been too worried because of that. "He left… through that door," she said and pointed at a closeby door.

"Really, Emma?" Regina sighed, despair clear on her face. "You could've told me!" she hissed.

"Well, I'm sorry. I thought you knew everything that was going on!" she muttered back at Regina.

Three guards made their way running towards King Midas, one of them informing him that Snow was in the castle. Regina looked at Emma in the eye in silent understanding, and they made their way towards the stairs that took them to a door. As they finally faced the brisk evening air, they could see Snow climbing over the castle's parapet. A relieved sound leaving Emma's mouth was soon accompanied by a similar one by Regina.

"She must've done it. She must've stolen the ring," Emma thought out loud.

"Luckily. Now we can get back to Rumple and this nightmare will finally be over," Regina said.

"You can't hide from me! Wherever you are, I will find you!" Charming yelled from a distant window. Emma couldn't help smiling and turned to look at Regina, who was rolling her eyes quite possibly more than ever before.

"You can't be serious."

Regina's sulking was interrupted by a soldier joining them and aiming an arrow at Snow. Emma pushed him down, causing the arrow flying towards Snow hit a tree instead. She landed on the floor and saw something glimmering in front of her. _Oh no._

"It's the ring," she whispered as she picked it up and raised it so Regina could see it, too. Then she realized she was on one knee in front or Regina, holding a goddamn ring, so she got up, which was good because more guards appeared from the open door right at that moment.

"We have to get it back to her!" Regina shouted as two more guards joined them. She took the sword from the guard that was still nearly unconscious after Emma tackling him. Regina told her to run.

"Wait, you can use a sword?" she asked. She had always thought the Queen had only had to rely on her magic, but was proven wrong.

"Of course I can use a sword! Go!"

"Sorry, bad timing," Emma muttered and ran back to the staircase, clutching the ring in her hand.

* * *

"That's her, she helped the bandit escape!" Emma heard someone yell when she tried to make her way towards the main entrance. Suddenly, she was surrounded by several guards dressed in black, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Going somewhere?" a sultry voice she knew all too well asked.

She turned around and saw Regina. And not her Regina. Queen Regina.

"Regina," left Emma's mouth as she started to explain. Maybe there was still some way out of this. Maybe if she–

The woman in front of her laughed in disbelief and didn't let her finish. "That's a bit informal, wouldn't you say? Show some respect. It's _Your Majesty,_" Regina said as she moved closer and raised her eyebrows.

Emma realized her mistake too late. Even though Regina would always be just Regina to her, no matter what had happened and what would happen, this version of Regina wouldn't appreciate her view in this situation. One of the guards grabbed Emma and there was no way for her to escape now. Not that there had been before. This Regina had magic and her guards on her side, and Emma had just disrespected her and helped her arch enemy escape.

Where was Regina? The other one. The one who didn't want to see her suffer, at least not as much as this one.

"You're not going anywhere," the Queen laughed. "Snow White may have left the party early, but I suspect your night has just begun."

_What the hell, Regina?_ The Queen's gaze roamed up and down her body, and by the time the brown eyes were back on Emma's, she was utterly confused. Was the Queen supposed to sound menacing? Her last utterance and the look the woman had just given her were suggestive as hell, and not something the Queen ought to have said to someone she had just captured as a prisoner.

That was typical, though, now that Emma thought of it. The Queen's words had been just as ambiguous as half the things her Regina said on a regular basis. That had been going on ever since she first came to Storybrooke. Emma never really understood what it was that was there between them –

_Wait,_ this was most definitely the wrong time to be thinking about that.

"Take her away." The Queen chuckled, gazed over Emma one more time, and let the guards take her away. From the corner of her eye, Emma saw her Regina arrive in the hall, obviously not knowing what to do without any magic, her expression scared and confused.


	4. Chapter 4: Snow Bluffs

The guards took Emma underground, and she soon found herself thrown into a cold cell. She looked at the ring she was still clutching in her hand and wondered how the hell she would get herself out of there. One of the guards who was assigned to take her to the cell had decided that he wanted her ball gown for his wife, so Emma had been forced to change to peasant clothing before being incarcerated.

She soon found out that she was not alone, but there was a brunette woman sitting in the shadows in the cell next to hers. When she asked her name, the woman declined to answer because she thought keeping herself anonymous would help save her family. Emma offered the woman some bread she had snatched on her way down, and that's when she realized the woman was the same person they had seen earlier in the woods.

The woman wasn't upset for her not helping her earlier. "It's alright. If you had tried to free me, you would've just ended up in here sooner."

Emma found out that the woman had been put in the dungeon because she had refused to tell Regina where Snow was hiding. She felt a sudden need to get the woman out of there, back to her family. The woman had given up her freedom to ensure Snow's. The need to get both of them out became greater when she found out that they would otherwise be executed the following day.

Emma ended up sitting on the ground. She kept playing with the ring, hoping to come up with some sort of escape plan.

"What's that?" the woman asked.

"It's my parents'," she answered. "I guess you could call it their wedding ring."

"And they entrusted you with it?"

Emma didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The situation was hopeless. "Sort of. I need to get it back to them."

"Being away from family is a terrible, terrible thing," the woman said, pain clear in her voice.

"Yeah, it is."

"The longer I'm separated from them, the pain doesn't dull. It worsens. Maybe because I know I'll never see them again," the woman sighed.

"If my mom was here she would tell me to have hope," Emma thought out loud as she put the ring on her finger. "Maybe, you should, too. Who knows, maybe you will end up with them again."

Who knew, right?

"I don't think so. I'm fairly certain they already think that I'm dead. And soon that' ll be true."

As Emma looked aimlessly around the cell, she spotted a spoon lying on the ground.

"Maybe not," she said as an idea started to form in her head. "Give me your spoon." She took the wires around the spoon off, ready to use it as a tool to open the lock of her cell. Neal had taught her how to do it, and it couldn't hurt to try now. What did she have to lose?

"What are you doing?" the woman asked in a confused voice.

"It's all about the tumblers," Emma mumbled back to her as she used the wire on the lock of the cell. She managed to open it so fast she surprised herself, and the door of the cell flew open. She turned to face the woman outside the cell and hesitated.

"What are you waiting for?" the woman asked "Go! Get out of here! Go!"

Emma knew she wasn't supposed to meddle with past events in any way, but the woman in front of her was facing certain death in the morning and had a family waiting for her. A woman who was there in the first place because she had refused to give Regina information about Emma's mother. She just couldn't leave her to die, could she?

* * *

A moment later they were both making their way out of the cells, looking for a way out. Emma was pleasantly surprised when she turned around the corner and her Regina was right in front of her.

"Regina!"

"What?" her former cellmate exclaimed. "Where?!"

"Oh, sorry," Emma remembered that no one else could actually see who was really in front of her and that the name would most definitely not give anyone else there the warm feeling it gave her. "I meant… Regina incarcerated me and this woman, but we escaped." Her gaze fell on the two people on each side of Regina. Prince Charming and Red Riding Hood had come to rescue her, too. Or was this a rescue?

"Is this a rescue?" she asked.

"It was supposed to be, but I should've known you could get out of a cell all by yourself, even without any magic," Regina laughed at her, beaming with pride.

"Thanks," she answered, fighting a grin, and looked at the ring again. "I'm not gonna be around much longer if we don't find out where this belongs, though."

"I think that belongs to me," her father said and turned to take the ring she offered.

"You guys have a way out of here?" she asked.

"Follow me," Red said. "Snow told me where to meet her."

Red and Charming made her way back to the direction they had come from, and the woman she had just freed thanked her before running after them.

She was left behind with Regina who was scowling at her.

"I couldn't leave her to die!" Emma tried to defend herself.

"Well, we can't really change the past either," Regina responded as they started following Charming, Red, and the woman.

"Why are you complaining so much? Less blood on your hands." Emma realized that it wasn't the nicest thing to say and she had slipped, but that's how she felt, anyway. She also had to have Regina agree with her somehow.

Regina scoffed. "We can't change the past and you know it."

"She's one of the many people who died, what difference does it even make?"

Regina just shook her head at her, and they continued running behind the others.

* * *

They made their way up the castle, trying to find Snow before it was too late. The hallways were awfully quiet, and Emma tried not to be distracted by the sight of the building when they were on an important mission. She saw Regina and the others stop by a large window at the end of a corridor and followed them.

"What is it? Did you find Snow?" she asked.

"Yes, we did," Regina responded after a moment of silence. Emma moved closer to the window, and that's when she saw what had made her company so quiet. Snow was in front of the castle, tied down to a stake, and judging by the scene, ready to be burned to death.

"We have to get down there before it's too late!" she breathed and looked at Regina and her father standing next to her. Regina's mouth was agape and she looked both scared and confused.

"I don't think we can," Charming said.

"No," left her lips when the other Regina set fire to the stake. A horror she had never felt before filled Emma and she brought a hand on her mouth. They were all glued to watch without being able to do anything.

"This doesn't make any sense…" Regina mumbled, panic rising under her breath. "I don't remember any of this… How could I…."

The flames went higher until Emma couldn't bear to watch anymore.

* * *

"It couldn't have happened," Regina said to her for the umpteenth time. They had moved to the nearby forest next to the castle after coming to the conclusion that it wouldn't be smart to stay around as sitting ducks when the Queen could find them any minute. Emma was alone with Regina, but the others were somewhere nearby. "You couldn't be here if it had. Snow did something… None of this makes sense. It couldn't happen to her. You're still here, and I will not live in a world where Henry and you don't exist!"

Henry and I, Emma repeated to herself. Things really had changed. Regina didn't seem to notice her slip, or didn't care at this point.

"And I would like Henry to have his grandmother around," Regina added reluctantly. "And judging by you still being here, she will be around."

"Okay. So, she's still alive," Emma responded and brushed a couple of tears away, hope starting rise inside her. She wouldn't have normally believed someone saying a person she just saw burned at a stake would still be alive, but Regina was… well, Regina, and she was making a lot of sense, really. "If Snow is out there, we have to find her."

Suddenly a bug of some sort started flying in circles around Regina, which caused the woman to huff in annoyance and dodge the bug when it flew straight towards her face.

"I would burn you straight away if I had my powers," Regina muttered to the bug and shook her head. "We should head back to the castle and take a look around. I won't be alarmed because I seem to be thinking Snow is dead. Not that I remember any of this happening," she added in a frustrated tone after the bug moved.

The bug - a lady bug, it seemed - that had been surrounding Regina, sat on Emma's arm. A murderous glare she had seen in the Queen's eyes earlier showed in the brown eyes in front of her.

"Wait, I got it," Regina said, and Emma stayed still, not wanting to come in the middle of Regina and the lady bug.

"Wait!" her father's voice suddenly exclaimed from the woods. "Don't harm that thing. When we were coming to rescue you, Snow told me what her dust would do to the Queen. She said it would turn her into a form that could easily be squashed."

He came closer and picked up the lady bug from her shoulder. Emma's jaw fell open.

"That's Snow?" she asked, unable to believe what Charming was implying. Emma turned to face Regina and was half expecting a sarcastic comment, but it never came, and the woman's features were filled with apprehension.

"Well, if she timed it right, she could have escaped that fireball," her father shrugged. "Faked her death and flown away." He brought the bug closer to his face and took a better look. "Yeah, that's her. We just need to find a way to bring her back."

Emma could hear the bug buzzing fervently. "She's saying something."

Regina, who had been quiet for an uncharacteristically long time, scoffed. "Well, how are we supposed to know what she's saying?" Then she muttered something about being incredibly blind for not seeing everything earlier, but Emma was soon distracted by a new yet familiar voice.

"She's calling for me," the voice called above them, and Emma could see the Blue Fairy when she turned around. The fairy's name escaped her lips before she could stop it, and she could practically feel Regina roll her eyes next to her.

"That's right," the fairy responded. "And you are?"

Why had she drawn attention to herself for no good reason _again_?

"Leia," Emma responded, hoping that to be enough for Blue. She was glad Regina had had the sense to be quiet, but of course she had.

"No, that's not it," Blue said and shook her head, obviously seeing through Emma's lie. "But your secrets can be yours. I sense it's better that way."

Thank god that she does, Emma thought, because blowing either of their covers wouldn't have had positive consequences.

"Can you bring Snow back?" Red asked desperately, interrupting her thoughts.

"Dark magic did this to her," the fairy said and nodded, "Light magic can undo it," she finished and used her wand to transform the bug into Snow. Emma was momentarily blinded by a flash of bright magic, and when she opened her eyes again, her mother was standing in front of her. A wave of relief washed over her and she was laughing and hugging her mother before giving it a second thought.

Someone else seemed to have the same reaction, though. She could feel someone clutching Snow as well, expecting Red to be hugging her best friend, too. As Emma turned her head, however, she saw Regina had thrown herself at Snow as well.

"I am so sorry," Regina muttered into the hug. Emma turned to look at her mother's face, which was full of confusion and shock, so she reluctantly let go, and tugged Regina's sleeve so the brunette would follow her example.

"For what?" Snow asked and flinched slightly. "Who are you?"

Regina seemed to realize what she had done, trying to shrug and act casual, which was quite incredible considering she had just been hugging her former nemesis like her life depended on it. Emma guessed seeing herself actually kill Snow had had its effect on Regina, not to mention the state of both mental and physical exhaustion they were in by that point. "You know… Sorry that you had to go through that and all."

"Okay… Thank you," Snow said and turned to Red who was calling out to her.

"Snow?"

"Red!" Snow exclaimed and ran to her friend. "I'm so glad to see you."

Emma looked after her mother's disappearing form, feeling so empty for her not recognizing her. She turned to looked at Regina standing next to her. The woman had masked her expression as neutral as it could get, but Emma knew better.


	5. Chapter 5: Troll Bridge

**AN: I tried think of a way to keep the plot consistent after the change (with the ring, Snow needs one for the sea voyage now) I made in chapter two, and I kinda made it work, although I could've probably done it better. (I just don't know how, so...) Anyway, it's OUAT, so weirder things have happened!**

* * *

Emma was sitting on a log in the woods next to Regina as she watched Snow say goodbye to Red. After Red left, Snow soon turned back to Prince Charming who was drinking water a few feet away from them. Excitement filled Emma. Her parents were finally where they were supposed to be. They had fixed it.

She turned to look at Regina who rolled her eyes. Emma knew better than that, though, and she was pretty sure the woman was as excited as she was to see Snow alive and breathing.

She saw in the corner of her eye Snow take Charming's canteen, most likely offering to fill it for him. The sun was shining and everything was right again.

"They're warming up to each other. This is good," she stated to Regina who still tried to look uninterested.

"I suppose," Regina shrugged. Her eyes fell onto something else, and her expression grew more serious. "What are your plans for her? We cannot alter the past by letting her live, and you know it." Emma's eyes followed Regina's line of sight, and she realized that Regina was talking about her cellmate.

"Well," Emma started, "I was thinking about taking her with us."

"You can't be serious," Regina laughed.

"I'm not going to let her die, and we both know it," she said and straightened her back. "Are you gonna fight me?"

Regina turned her gaze away and shook her head. "You're unbelievable, Emma Swan."

* * *

Talking to the woman didn't go as well as Emma had hoped, especially since Regina was getting incredibly inpatient, huffing next to her and shaking her head more than during the past day in total. Emma tried to explain why the woman couldn't go back to her family, how that would change the past, and how she should just trust them.

That didn't go too well, which she partly blamed on Regina's hostile looks towards the woman and partly on the content of her request. There was no reason why the woman should have been particularly excited to leave her family and her whole life behind in order to go to the future just because two women she had just met that day told her so.

"With all due respect, I don't trust you, or believe you, so unless you're kidnapping me…" The woman wasn't able to finish her sentence because Emma hit her in the head with a log, causing her to fall down. That wasn't the smoothest move, she was sure, but she was still glad her pre-Storybrooke life had prepared her for this kind of thing.

"Then I guess we're kidnapping you," she said.

Regina scolded at her. "This is the stupidest idea you've ever had, and I'm sure you've had plenty."

"What happened to her?" Charming was suddenly standing next to them, a puzzled look on his face.

"She's…" she started, Charming and Regina both looking at her expectantly, "resting. What's up?"

"Either one of you seen Snow? She went to the stream but she hasn't…" he started, but stopped as he realized what had happened. He felt the pocket of his vest, and Emma saw Regina roll her eyes again. "The ring! She took it!"

"Really?" she asked, trying to sound as casual as she could. "Maybe you should find her, then."

"I will find her," Charming said as he turned to the direction they had last seen Snow. "She can't have gone further than Troll Bridge."

"Emma…" Regina said after Charming had left. "Snow doesn't have the dust as her weapon now… They won't be likely to be able to fight the trolls off without it."

_No._

"Let's go," Regina said to her, suddenly interested in Emma's parents' wellbeing again.

* * *

They ran after Charming. Emma's heart was pounding in her chest; they couldn't have come this far just to fail. When they arrived to the bridge, Snow was running away, and Charming was being held by three trolls. Snow seemed to ponder on something for a second, but then ran back to the bridge.

"Stop," she said, now standing on the bridge. "Drop the sword… or I'll turn you all into bugs."

"She's bluffing," Regina breathed out in amazement.

"She is," Emma responded as her mother continued her threats and made the trolls back out.

"We don't want any trouble," one of them said, and they left everything they had stolen behind them and disappeared under the bridge. Charming stood up with an amazed expression on his face.

"You saved me," he breathed out.

"It was the honorable thing to do," Snow replied.

Emma saw Snow sprinkle the sand she had bluffed the trolls with on the ground, to which Charming responded with an impressed smile. They left the bridge, walking together, and Emma and Regina needed to move so that they could see how the scene would unfold.

Emma's mouth gaped open when her father pulled another ring from his pocket, and she wasn't the only one. Her mother's mouth was agape as well, and when Emma turned around, she could see Regina's surprised expression, too.

"He's giving her… another ring, so she can afford the passage?"

"It would appear so," Regina confirmed, with some doubt in her low voice.

They couldn't hear them anymore, so they tried to move closer without interrupting the scene. When they were finally close enough, Emma could hear her mother's voice again.

"You'll find me," Snow finished with a smile.

"Always," Charming answered and looked after Snow heading in the opposite direction.

Emma exhaled in relief. They had finally set everything right. She could feel tears on her cheeks, unable to look away from the scene that had just unfolded in front of them.

Slight movement next to her reminded her that she wasn't alone. She turned to look at Regina who looked emotional as well, and…_ was there a tear on her cheek?_

"Oh, don't cry, Regina," she said, feeling ridiculous because of her own tears.

That seemed to shake Regina out of her thoughts. The woman shook her head and scoffed.

"Who? Me? Have you seen yourself?"

"Sure, Regina," she laughed. There was no reason to tease her more. "Let's go."

"You didn't see anything, and if you tell anyone otherwise…" Regina started.

Emma laughed. "My lips are sealed," she said and looked at Regina, who was looking at her lips, but quickly snapped herself out of it, making Emma unsure if the woman had actually looked at her at all.

"Wait, let's look at the book," Emma said, taking the book out of the bag and opening it. As she found all the stories back in their place, she could feel the corners of her mouth tug into a smile, and when she turned to look at Regina, she saw her smiling too.

* * *

"We did it," she said as she and Regina barged in the doors to Rumpelstiltskin's castle. They were carrying Emma's cellmate together, and Emma was wondering how Regina had actually agreed to this. Not that she complained.

"Your parents are together?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"They're right back on track," she replied. "We're ready to go."

"I see," Rumpelstiltskin sniggered, taking a look at them and pointing at the unconscious woman. "And you brought some luggage."

"Long story," she said, not wanting to get into details. "So, how's the portal coming? Can you open it?"

"I cannot," the Dark One confessed and shrugged.

That didn't make any sense.

"Excuse me?" Regina said before Emma got a chance to say anything. "You said you'd send us back. You can't keep us here. After all you've done to me, I won't have…"

"What are you working on, then?" Emma asked after seeing Rumpelstiltskin was mixing a potion of some sort, afraid that Regina's rage would pull them off track.

"Oh, this is for me," the Dark One chirped and flashed them a smile. "A forgetting potion. I know too much about my future. The only way to protect it is to forget it."

"I cannot believe this," Regina groaned, and let the woman she was holding fall to the ground, Emma following her example but more gently. "You have the wand! Just move us back!"

"Oh, that. Well, apparently, only those who used the portal can reopen it," he said and motioned with his hands, eventually grabbing the wand off the table, "So unless you got your powers back, you're going nowhere!" He threw the wand at Regina who caught it and glared at Rumpelstiltskin murderously. "Did you?" Neither of them answered. "Thought not."

"So, what are you gonna do, kill us?" Regina queried. "We can't be here."

"No. I mean to put you someplace safe," he grinned. "Someplace even I dare not go. Where I store the magic that is too dark or unpredictable even for me."

"No–" Regina objected, panic rising in her voice.

"Rumplestilts-" Emma started, but before she could finish what she was saying, she felt the ground beneath her feet disappear and magic move her to another place.

* * *

**AN: I'll be visiting my friends in Austria for a couple of weeks, so I don't know when I manage to update again. There should be... two more chapters, I think, though. **

**Thank you for your feedback, it means a lot!  
**


	6. Chapter 6: The Tomb

**AN: I'm back from Austria, so here's the second last chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

"No," Emma gasped and took a look at their new surroundings. They were in a tomb with no daylight in sight, surrounded by heaps of suspicious objects scattered everywhere. The only light came from candles, and they were both in their original Storybrooke clothing. Emma could feel panic starting to rise inside of her.

"Don't touch anything!" Regina said, even though it was clear that she wasn't touching anything. If the situation had been less serious, Emma would've rolled her eyes. "We need to find a way out."

"I don't think there is one," she sighed. "And, what's the point? You heard what he said."

"Why must I lose my magic like this?" Regina bellowed. "I feel… All day, I felt useless and unprotected without my magic. I need it back. It's as if a limb has been taken from me… And now it's our only way home, and we don't have it!"

"I know we don't," Emma said, unable to respond with anything to help Regina in their situation. It would be nearly impossible to get out of a tomb made by the Dark One without any magic.

"It doesn't even make any sense!" Regina continued. "When Zelena died, all of her spells were undone. Your powers should have been restored. Mine shouldn't be gone in the first place. All magic comes with a price… What a load of… That's no real reason. I want my magic back!" Regina yelled at no one in particular, her voice echoing in the tomb.

"I know… I really want to make this work and go home to our son and that's that," she added quietly.

"And not take him to New York?" Regina asked, her voice now lower, but still a bit suspicious.

"Of course not. I thought we had covered that already. I wouldn't run away anymore. Henry has his home in Storybrooke. I have him, my parents, and, well, you, there, and I'm not gonna run from that, even though I've spent all my life running." Emma was pouring her heart out, unable to stop. She wanted to make sure Regina knew how she felt. Not that it would really get them out of the tomb, but she still felt like she needed to speak her mind. "Almost losing it all today made me realize that. And most importantly, I just want what's best for Henry, and I know you do too. The life you gave us was pretty good, but what's even better is to share it with you," she finished.

Regina slumped to the ground, and Emma soon followed her lead, sitting down next to her.

"I just want to get back to him, too. That's all that matters." Regina inhaled slowly, still not looking at her. "Emma, I have to say again that I'm sorry, because really, I am. You grew up as an orphan because of me, even though you had parents who loved you. You had your destiny mapped out for you as the Savior and had no choice on the matter…"

"Regina…"

"I spent the first twenty years of my life ordered around, first by my mother, then by the King, then by Rumpelstiltskin. I felt so trapped and had no choice, and then I did the same to you, leaving you with no choice and so alone. I can't hold it too hard against you that you wanted to take Henry away from this mess and give him the best life possible," Regina finished and looked on her right, quickly brushing away a couple of tears on her cheek.

"The best life possible for him is with all the people that love him, especially his mother. That's you, Regina," Emma managed to answer, countless emotions welling inside her after Regina's speech.

Regina's head finally shot up. The brunette's incredulous sad expression turned into a slight smile soon. "We're both his mothers."  
Emma smiled back at Regina and wondered what she should say next. "And thank you… for, you know… saying all that stuff, Regina. Really." _Wow, Swan, you really know how to reply to a heartfelt apology._

A small moment passed, and neither of them said anything as they looked around the tomb. Emma tried to choose her next words carefully. "You don't… happen to have any idea what kind of magic could bring our powers back?"

"Well," Regina muttered, lost in thought, "I suppose going back would give me my powers back since going through the portal seemed to be the reason for losing them… But that does no good. I don't know about you, though. You should've gotten yours back already," she stopped and sighed. "Then there's of course True Love's Kiss that's more powerful than any magic and can even break curses, but unless you find it here, well, we're kind of out of options."

* * *

They sat together in silence for Emma's longest ten minutes in Fairytale Land. She tried to come up with some sort of escape plan, but her mind was blank until she was willing to acknowledge the hopeful thought that had been in the back of her mind ever since Regina had last talked.

"Okay, Regina, I have an idea," Emma said, mentally chastising herself for even thinking about what she was about to propose. "Please don't kill me, but it really couldn't hurt to try."

"Emma, what the hell are you talking about?" Regina asked, but seemed to know what she meant already when she looked at her. "Oh, no you don't."

"It really can't hurt to try! You're, like, the mother of my son and attractive and everything. I've kissed people for less." She decided to leave out the part that she had thought about kissing Regina before this. Multiple times. The thought was not unwelcome.

"You really know a way into a woman's heart," Regina said and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so it's a long shot. Especially because you have a soulmate and everything, but that isn't the same as True Love… Actually, Henry gave me the idea the other day. He was saying that if you weren't together with Robin Hood, he would totally want his moms together to be a family. The Savior and the former Evil Queen, ending the wrath between everyone for good, because that's something they could write a whole new book about, apparently."

"Henry said that?" Regina asked curiously, her expression more serious and eyebrows scrunched together.

"Yeah," Emma answered, because Henry had really said that, which she had tried to respond to jokingly, but had sort of failed since she didn't think being with Regina would be a bad option at all.

"It does sound like him," Regina said, her gaze fixated on the ground in front of her, a tint of smile on her lips. "Okay, let's get it over with."

"Wow, don't get all excited," Emma responded, unable to control her sarcasm because she simply didn't know how to act in this situation. She felt nervous. How was she supposed to casually kiss Regina? She was, well, _Regina_. And Emma was supposed to hope that their kiss would break whatever it was that had stopped their magic from working in the first place. And she did hope that the kiss would work, truly, for more than one reason, but if it did, that would just raise more questions... Like what the hell it meant that the Savior and the Queen shared true love when the latter already had a soulmate.

This was exhausting, and Emma just really wanted to take a break from everything. The situation was confusing. Her feelings were confusing. Regina's response was confusing. Everything was confusing.

"Well?" Regina said impatiently and motioned with her hand, pulling Emma back from her thoughts.

_Right._ The kiss. No break from anything yet. Just confusing feelings and uneasiness.

Emma moved closer to Regina and looked into the brown eyes in front of her. She fought showing any physical sign of nervousness, hoping that the kiss wouldn't be a complete awkward failure that Regina would later blame her for. She brought her lips to Regina's and brushed them together, the kiss very chaste, and before doing anything else, a flash of light magic shot from them and shook the ground. Emma pulled back, shocked that the kiss seemed to have worked.

"Oh my God," she said and put her hand on her lips. "Did it actually…"

Regina seemed to have been blown away by what had just happened, too. The sarcastic comment that was bound to come soon was never uttered, but Regina opened her hand instead and conjured up a fireball. Emma was enchanted by the sight.

"Well, I seem to have my magic back," she said matter-of-factly, her voice a little hoarse.

Emma tore her eyes away from Regina's hand and looked at the wand in hers. It was glowing.

"So do I."

* * *

Emma could feel magic surge through the wand she was holding. An orange portal soon appeared in front of them, and she had to squint her eyes to see it properly. Regina flicked her wrist, and Emma's cellmate was suddenly hovering next to them, ready to enter the portal.

"Ready?" she asked Regina, concentrating on their mission instead of what had just happened between them. That could be discussed later, although Emma had no idea what she should say then.

"Definitely," Regina replied and nodded.

They didn't have time to go through the portal, however, because that was when Rumpelstiltskin appeared behind them. Emma turned around right after she heard the man appear and saw the confused yet furious expression on his face.

"You opened it," he gasped and Emma could feel herself unable to move. Rumpelstiltskin had done something. "Wait."

"Let us go right now, Rumple, or so help me…" Regina said behind her, and Emma guessed she was frozen on the spot as well. That was unfortunate, really, because Emma was sure they could've taken Rumple out with their magic for enough time to get through the portal.

"My son. What happens when I find him?" he asked furiously, motioning with his hands, desperation clear on his face.

"I thought you wanted to forget," Emma replied. The man kept changing his mind, and she couldn't quite frankly keep track anymore.

"Before I do, I need to know. Does he forgive me?"

Emma tried to figure out what would be the smartest move in their situation. She tried to answer briefly and truthfully, ignoring Regina's murderous gaze she could feel on the back of her head.

"Yes," she said after a short pause, knowing that the answer was little consolation because of what would really happen to Neal.

"Yes, but what? What aren't you telling me?"

"Emma, don't," Regina said.

"Tell me or you will never leave," Rumpelstiltskin threatened, his voice rising.

"He dies," Emma said, feeling hot tears on her cheeks. She saw Rumpelstiltskin's expression fall, and the man staggered a few steps backwards. "He forgives you. He loved you. He died to save all of us. Don't let it be in vain."

"No. I can change what happened. I can save my boy!"

"You think you can change the future, but you might make it worse, and you really should know better than that," Regina said, her tone somehow both annoyed and scared.

"I loved him, too," Emma added. Her voice was shaking. "I wanted to save him. He died a hero. You can't take that away from him. You have to drink the potion. You have to forget everything I just told you."

Rumpelstiltskin moved his hand, and they were finally free from whatever it was that had made them freeze on the spot in the first place. Regina took Emma's hand and pulled her towards the portal as she made sure her cellmate was with them, too. The last thing Emma saw before the pull of the portal was Rumpelstiltskin drinking the memory potion he had been making earlier.

* * *

**Thank you so much for your comments, favs, and follows. They mean a lot to me, honestly.**

**My tumblr is queenssaviour btw (what a surprise) in case anyone wants to follow my multifandom (I tag everything for blacklist purposes) blog there or just chat without the follow part.**


	7. Chapter 7: Storybrooke

**The last chapter! It's a bit longer than the earlier ones, but not a lot. Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma could feel the air leave her lungs as she was thrown against a hard surface. She tentatively opened her eyes and saw she was back in the farmhouse with Regina and the woman whose name she still didn't know. Regina was sitting on the ground next to her, shaking her head with a pained expression on her face. Emma could see the back of the woman lying on the ground next to Regina, and she guessed that the anonymous brunette would be reaching consciousness sometime soon.

"So…" Emma started, unable to decide whether she should comment on their last run-in with Rumple, their kiss, or the fact that they were back in Storybrooke and the portal behind them had closed.

"Hmm," Regina muttered her eyes closed and brought a hand to her temple.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine," Regina said as she put her hand back down and opened her eyes slowly. "Rumple's glamor has worn off, though, so it might be wise if we part ways here so that you can explain this to your… friend before she is faced with the Evil Queen again."

Emma's gaze shot back to the woman grumbling next to them. She hadn't even thought of that yet. "Yeah, okay. You go tell the others we're back, and we'll join you when she she's conscious again. It shouldn't take long."

"They must be delighted that I come back without you…" Regina muttered and rolled her eyes as she stood up. "But alright. I'll see you at Granny's?"

"Okay. See you at Granny's."

She watched Regina leave and wondered what she should do. They had kissed and that had somehow given them both their magic back, but Regina was together with Robin Hood, who had been Regina's soulmate the last time she had checked. Despite the mixed signals Regina had given her in the past, Emma hadn't actually ever thought that she had any chance with her, and she couldn't even believe that Regina could like her that way. The brunette had been… well, more surprised than anything by the kiss, if she was completely honest.

At least Regina hadn't seemed repulsed, so there was that.

The possibility of ever being with Regina brought her to another point. They had reached a stage of something one could call friendship by now, and there was a lot of history between them, so starting out as casually as possible would hardly work in their case, considering they even shared a son. They couldn't let this hurt Henry.

Emma groaned in her growing confusion, but her train of thought was suddenly stopped by a sound next to her. Her cellmate was waking up. Emma moved a bit closer, but not too close, not wanting to scare the woman off. She had been, after all, the one to knock her out in the first place.

"Hi," she started.

* * *

She explained the woman that they had brought her back with them because they couldn't have left her behind, changing history and all. That could've gone better, but at the same time, the woman agreed to leave the farmhouse and join Emma on her way to Granny's.

They walked towards the diner in the chilly night air, the only source of light at that hour being the street lights. The woman eventually told her more about her family – a husband and a son – and Emma realized that they could still be alive in Storybrooke. After a while of persuading the woman into telling her what her family members' names were, the temptation to know whether or not she could see them grew too strong and the woman told her husband's name: Robin.

"Hood?"

"Yes."

_Oh, shit._

Emma knew that she had majorly created a chance for so much drama and heartbreak, but at the same time she knew she wouldn't have done anything differently. She wouldn't have left this innocent woman to die. She tried to think of a way to break the news about the the recent relationships of the woman's husband as appropriately as possible.

"You know… the thing is… a lot of time has passed for Robin, a few decades, so he has sort of… moved on…" Emma didn't know what she was saying, but she had to explain things to the woman before they reached the diner.

"He has… remarried?"

"No, not exactly. This world is really different, but I could say he's courting with someone, I guess. Do you say that?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with the expression," the woman said, her tone getting colder. "Wait… if decades have passed, does that mean they're both older now? Is Roland practically an adult?"

Emma's mouth hung open at that, because she really did not know why they hadn't gotten any older if they had spent those 28 years in the Enchanted Forest. "No, they're still the same age, pretty much. I think."

"Fine," the woman replied, wrapping her arms around herself and not saying more for a while. They walked in silence.

* * *

"Oh, and, if you see the Queen…" Emma said just before they entered Granny's. "She's… she's just Regina here. She's different. You don't have to be afraid of her."

"What?" the woman said, but then they were walking in already. Emma knew it was kind of a low blow to not explain it better, but at this point she just really used all her willpower on not running to the opposite direction.

"Emma!" Snow yelled, her lips pulling into a smile as she saw her. She was sitting in the same booth as earlier, holding Emma's baby brother, and David was sitting next to her. Henry ran to hug her from the opposite side of the table where he had been sitting with Regina who turned to look at them as well.

"Hi, Ma. Mom filled us in on everything," Henry muttered into the hug.

"Hi, Kid. I missed you."

"Regina told us that you were Princess Leia," Snow said, beaming with excitement.

"You're officially one of us," David added.

Emma would've wanted to continue the carefree chat because she truly was happy to be back and staying in Storybrooke, but all she could do was chuckle nervously because she was all too aware of the bomb about the explode, that bomb being Robin Hood walking into the diner.

The woman didn't seem to notice Regina, and Regina seemed to be willing to keep the situation that way, looking straight ahead and not turning her gaze to their direction. The woman looked at the diner in awe, her brown eyes scanning the room and her expression becoming somewhat fearful.

"Marian?" inquired a disbelieving voice behind them. Emma didn't have to turn around to know that the voice belonged to Robin Hood, and the woman's name must've been Marian._ No surprise there, really._ The two ran to each other in the middle of the diner, but all Emma could look at was Regina, heartbreak and confusion dawning onto her face.

"She's his dead wife?" Regina asked, her voice strained and her eyes so full of disbelief Emma wanted to disappear off the face of the Earth.

Marian was hugging Roland now, which gave Regina a chance to excuse herself from the table quickly and make her way outside. Emma waited about two seconds and decided to follow her, leaving everyone else behind.

The loud chatter around Emma turned into silence when she stepped outside and shut the door behind her. Regina was standing near the sidewalk, her back to her and completely ignoring her arrival.

"I didn't know she was Robin's wife," Emma started, not getting any response. She walked closer to Regina. "But I still wouldn't change saving her, and you know that."

"I know," Regina said quietly. She still didn't turn to face her.

"I'm sorry I made your life miserable again."

"Let's not go that far," Regina said as she finally spun around to look at her, and relief washed over Emma because Regina looked like a 2 on her "Murderous Regina" scale when she had looked like a 10 in the Enchanted Forest. Maybe this was all reversible. "I'm glad Roland has his mother back," she finally added.

Emma couldn't keep a small smile from appearing on her lips because this proved how far Regina had come. Emma decided to continue talking since Regina wasn't yelling at her. "Okay, and the thing is I'll do anything in my power to make you happy. Want grilled cheese at 2am? Got it. Although you don't really like that. I'll get you kale salad at 2am. I'll help you run for mayor again… Against my mother, but if you want your job back, you still got my support. You name it. Want to get drunk in the middle of the day for no reason? I'll be there if the mayor sees it's wise for the sheriff to do so. I'll be your drinking buddy. We can start right now."

She kept listing things she would do for Regina, not knowing how to execute all her promises, but listing these things made a smile tug at the corners of Regina's mouth, so she felt like she really needed to keep going. "But yeah, you should probably go and talk with Robin because, you know, soulmates, wives… Shit, I'm sorry, Regina."

Regina exhaled and raised an eyebrow. "Emma Swan, you're unbelievable."

"What?"

"You keep going on and on about these things to make me feel better and then you tell me to intervene in the… reunion inside when I'm perfectly happy talking here with you. Robin… hurts, but I don't blame him for going back to his wife; I know I would drop almost everything, apart from Henry, for Daniel… This just wasn't meant to…"

Emma could hear the door of the diner open, and as she turned, she could see Robin walk towards them. The man was wearing his usual confused face, so Emma wasn't sure what he was about to say.

"Regina, can we talk?"

Regina didn't seem very eager to talk, but nodded anyway, which was Emma's cue to reenter the diner to give the two some privacy. When Emma was in, she was faced with a few dozen fairytale characters asking her questions. She gave them all the shortest possible answer assuring them that Regina wouldn't be killing anyone because of a heartbreak and that things would be okay for Marian in Storybrooke. After that, she talked more to Marian personally until Robin came back in. Then she suddenly felt the need to go back to Regina.

"How did it go?" she asked Regina who was still standing in the same spot, her head turned sideways so she wasn't looking straight at her.

"It's… it's over… It's… He's going back to his wife, which is the right thing to do…" Regina shook her head and still refused to look at her. After a small pause, the woman's expression brightened, though. "And I have my son and someone bringing me food at 2am and helping me run for mayor, so I could do worse. I've done worse. Besides, I'm starting to think that this just might have sped up the inevitable… Especially after what happened today."

Was Regina actually…? Was she saying what Emma thought she was saying?

"Yes, Emma, I am talking about the kiss," Regina continued as if she could read Emma's mind. She was finally looking at her. "I was… thinking about my heart's desire even before I found out Marian was his wife… I just hadn't acted on it before tonight."

Emma still didn't know what to say, so they stood there in an awkward silence until she finally asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Don't make me repeat it," Regina said. Emma laughed at that inwardly, but she was too stunned to make any actual sound. Despite the kiss working before, she couldn't have actually believed that Regina would reciprocate her feelings. She had almost started thinking that the kiss had been platonic (despite her feelings not being platonic at all), or that them both being Henry's mothers had had something to do with it.

"So, you promised me that dance if we ever got back here," she finally said, unable to believe she was actually going down this road.

"There's no music," Regina said and scrunched her brow, looking absolutely adorable and clueless of what Emma was doing.

"I don't care," she responded. "Just come here."

Regina shrugged and came to stand in front of her, which led to Emma putting her hands on Regina's hips and Regina quickly mimicking Emma's movements with an unreadable expression on her face. What use were Emma's lie detecting skills when she never had any idea how Regina felt, the woman's signals mixed at best?

Or maybe they weren't that mixed anymore, Emma thought as they started swaying in silence to some imaginary music. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her feet quite ready to make a run for it and flee the scene. Somehow she managed to stay where she was, though, and keep calm (apart from her beet-red face she hoped Regina wouldn't notice in the dim light of the night). Brown eyes met hers and it was all getting too intense for her, her will to smash her lips against Regina growing, but a voice in the back of her head nagging that Regina had millions of reasons for not wanting to kiss her and the brunette could do way better. And it was really way too soon, wasn't it? Maybe this was a really bad idea.

Emma quickly changed her mind when Regina's gaze fell on her lips, though. Bad idea or not, hadn't this been coming ever since she first arrived to Storybrooke? And how bad could it really be? Their first kiss had given them both their magic back, and it had felt so good, albeit it had been very short. Plus, if Regina's earlier words and body language were anything to go by, Emma wasn't the only one who wanted this.

She glanced at Regina's lips and met the brunette's eyes again, making sure that her advances were welcome. After Regina's gaze fell on her lips for the second time, Emma finally closed the distance between them and brought her lips to Regina's.

Where their first kiss had been just a chaste brush of lips together, this one was more firm, and Emma soon noticed one of her hands had left Regina's hip and was on the brunette's neck now, her thumb drawing small patterns on the soft skin under her fingers. Regina responded to her kiss and was soon tentatively meeting Emma's tongue with hers, sighing contently into the kiss. Emma was unable to recall any of the reasons why this could've ever been a bad idea, wanting to kiss and touch Regina forever and wondering how it had taken them so long to try this in the first place.

Eventually, they had to break apart for some air, though. Regina was smiling, and she looked younger than she ever had before, including their visit to the Enchanted Forest.

"Wanna ditch the party and hang out with Henry and me for the rest of the night?" Emma asked, still slightly breathless. That's what she really wanted right now, a quiet evening with Regina and their son. Maybe her parents, too, because there was a lot of catching up to do, but that could happen after a good night's rest.

"Yes, I think that sounds good," Regina replied and smirked at her.

"You're cool with going back there with Robin and everyone there, though?" Emma asked, mentally kicking herself for bringing the topic up again almost instantly.

"Emma," Regina said, shaking her head, her smile fading. "We shared something that could've been a True Love's Kiss today and just spent a very nice while… making out, I suppose, so please do tell me why I'd want to be thinking about the man who maybe once was my soulmate and is in there with his _wife?_"

"But he's your soulmate. The fairy dust said–"

"It may come as a surprise to you, but I am actually very happy to be making my own destiny and decisions for once."

"It doesn't come as a surprise to me," Emma muttered back. Regina had spent all her life ordered around by her mother, the King, and Rumpelstiltskin, so Emma really knew what she meant, but she still couldn't help but feel unsure about Regina's feelings again now that they weren't kissing anymore. She had had some time to clear her head after kissing, and words such as _rebound_ and_ not good enough_ were filling her mind.

Regina seemed to be reading her mind again. "I'm not only interested in you as a second choice. I told you already that today really made me realize how I feel. I would've told you in the farmhouse already before knowing about Marian, but the time didn't seem right."

Regina got closer again and took her hands in hers. Emma could tell Regina wasn't lying, and she felt like she could breathe again. She gave the woman a small smile, and Regina beamed back at her and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"You wanna go in and get Henry?" Regina asked as she pulled away.

"Yeah, okay," Emma said, her smile wider now. Maybe they would be just fine.

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this story. Maybe consider reviewing if you made it this far (and even liked it)? Thank you for your support! It truly means a lot to me :) **

**Also, if I kept making the same mistake over and over again, or if you have any constructive criticism (especially grammar-wise), don't hesitate to let me know. (I probably have mentioned this before, but English isn't my first language, so I'm really eager to learn how to write better.)**

****You can find me on tumblr at queenssaviour. **Have a nice summer (or winter, depending on where you live)! x**


End file.
